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Basic Literature Searching

Tips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of Your Search

Basic LiteratureSearchingTips and Tricks for Getting the Most Out of Your Search

Enclosing Phrases in Quotes

If you don't enclose phrases in quotes, you'll find results that have those words anywhere in the record (usually: title, abstract, assigned keywords).


If you do enclose phrases in quotes, you'll automatically narrow your results to find records where only the phrase appears.


In the example below, "physician assistant" will return results with only that phrase, but physician assistant will return results where the word physician and the word assistant appear somewhere in the result, not necessarily together.

Using Truncation Symbols

In some cases it will be appropriate and efficient to truncate a word so that various endings are returned. Most databases use the asterisk (*) as the universal truncation symbol, although you can check the database help section if you aren't sure.


Example: adolescen* will return adolescent, adolescents, adolescence

Combining Search Concepts

Also known as "Boolean Logic"

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AND

Use AND between search terms to find results that have both terms.


Example: "hand therapy" AND "grip strength" will return literature about hand therapy and grip strength.


Use between two or more search concepts to narrow the search.

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OR

Use OR between search terms to find results that have either term.


Example: "nursing" OR "burnout" will return literature about nursing or burnout. It will be a lot of literature.


Better Example: "nursing" OR "nurses" OR "nurse" will create a search concept about one topic.


Use between synonyms to create a concept of similar terms.

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NOT

Use NOT between search terms to find results that have one term but not the other.


Example: "humans" NOT "animals" will return literature about humans without the term animals.


Use carefully because you might end up missing something you would like to see.

Using Database Filters

Sometimes a search will have far too many results. Try applying some filters to narrow it down. Many filters can be found in a database's "advanced" search function. You can limit to languages that you read, recent publication dates, article types, journal categories, ages, and more. (Screenshot: www.PubMed.gov)

Saving Your Search

Save yourself time and effort by copying and pasting your searches into a Word document. This allows you to pick up where you left off later, and also enables you to document the search should you need it for another project.


Document


  • what resource you searched
  • what date you searched
  • what search terms you used
  • what filters you applied
  • how many results you found



Alternatively, some databases allow you to save your search within the database once you have created an account.


You can also:


  • email the record to yourself
  • grab the citation
  • grab the permalink to the record
  • grab the permalink to the whole set of results

The Literature Search Process

Searching is an iterative process and you may find it helpful to follow the framework illustrated below.


In the first step, A, you assess your topic. Why are you doing this? What is the end result? How much literature do you want to find?


In step B, you can brainstorm your search terminology. There are lots of different ways to say the same thing. Start by writing down all the ways that authors might refer to your topic in the literature.


The third step, C, entails choosing the databases you want to search. It's generally a good idea to search more than one database so you find the best available literature.


Step D asks you to document your search. What terminology did you end up using? What databases did you search? What limits did you apply? How many results did you find?


The final step, E, asks you to evaluate what you found. What kind of source is it -- primary or secondary? What are the takeaway points? Who was the intended audience? Is it credible and high-quality? These are the kinds of questions you will answer in your literature review.

Price, C., Kudchadkar, S. R., Basyal, P. S., Nelliot, A., Smith, M., Friedman, M., & Needham, D. M. (2020). Librarian integration into health care conferences: a case report. Journal of the Medical Library Association: JMLA, 108(2), 278.